Helheim
: "It is a land of unyielding cold. Fires cannot burn there, and no magic in all the Nine Realms can create a blaze. As for the dead... your frost axe will be useless." : ―Freya Helheim, also known as Hel, is one of the Nine Realms of the World Tree, the final destination of the dishonorable dead and a major location in ''God of War'' (2018). Norse Mythology In Norse mythology, Hel, the location, shares a name with , a being who rules over the location. In late sources, varying descriptions of Hel are given and various figures are described as being buried with items that will facilitate their journey to Hel after their death. In the Poetic Edda, trip to Hel after her death is described and , while alive, also visits Hel upon his horse . In Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, goes to Hel on his death and subsequently uses Sleipnir to attempt to retrieve him. Description The Realm of the Dead is a land of darkness and unyielding cold, the extreme temperatures being so lethal even Odin himself is unable to survive for very long. Those who die as criminals, of disease, mishap and age end up spending eternity in the City of Helheim, a place where they are forever tormented by visions of their past. The realm possesses dark clouds covering the skies, an emerald-coloured thin fog and mist, mountains of ice, structures made of stone and human-shaped metal statues. An ever-present wind current, known as the Winds of Hel, always blows throughout the entire realm. There are spherical devices that can hold the winds, these are usually used as door locks. Despite the overwhelming cold and abundant ice, there are non-frozen rivers of water that flow from waterfalls where Tyr's Temple is located. A ship docked in the City of Helheim can be used to traverse these rivers. Helheim's architecture consists of bridges, gates and buildings made of black stone, most of which are covered by thick layers of ice and snow. Most of the metal statues scattered throughout the realm depict humans in lament states, and others hold wind-retaining spheres in their hands. The souls of the deceased must pass through the Bridge of the Damned to reach the City of Helheim. This bridge is guarded by the Bridge Keeper Mattugr Helson, a native Troll of Helheim whose job it is to inspect each soul to make sure the person going past is truly dead. Those who die and go to Helheim seem to appear primarily as dark featureless silhouetted spirits lacking any physical form of their own. Though there may be exceptions to this rule. They appear to be mostly indifferent in nature as they allow Kratos and Atreus to move past them with no trouble and don't respond at all even when somebody walks straight through them. In the city itself is where the residents are usually tormented by visions of their pasts created by the emerald fog taking shape. In the city's highest building is also where an enormous silver eagle, Hraesvelg, sits and simply watches over Helheim. In a sealed Hidden Chamber of Odin is where the Valkyrie Rota is imprisoned. History At an unknown point, Odin wanted to spite his wife Freya. To accomplish this, he imprisoned the Valkyries in different realms. One such Valkyrie, Rota, he trapped in Helheim. Because of the Valkyries' imprisonment, those who die in battle can't reach Valhalla, thus the Realm of the Dead is overwhelmed and the City of Helheim is overpopulated, forcing many dead to return to the realms of the living as Hel-Walkers. By the events of God of War (2018), Midgard had been almost completely overrun by the undead and the few remaining settlements of people still alive had been forced to resort to pillaging and plundering to survive. ''God of War'' (2018) After having his head beheaded by Kratos, Mimir's soul briefly entered Helheim. Before his soul could pass the Bridge of the Damned, he was brought back to life by Freya. The experience apparently left Mimir deeply terrified of the dreaded realm and he had no desire to return to there. After Kratos kills Magni, Modi flees, but later returns and ambushes them. Atreus collapses ill, which Mimir and Freya explain is a mental contradiction of a god believing himself to be mortal. She tells Kratos that he must retrieve the heart of the Keeper of the Bridge of the Damned in Helheim, but his Leviathan Axe is useless there. Kratos then returns home to unearth his old weapons, the Blades of Chaos, and is haunted by Athena's spirit, who goads him about his past. After retrieving the heart, he has a haunting vision of Zeus. Later, after having another run-in with Baldur, Jotunheim's portal is destroyed and the group ends up falling into Helheim. Atreus makes amends with Kratos and they find out about Freya and Baldur's familial relationship. --- Also, because of the Valkyries' recent imprisonment, those who die in battle can't reach Valhalla, thus the Realm of the Dead is overwhelmed and the City of Helheim is overpopulated, forcing many dead to return to the realms of the living as Hel-Walkers. By the time Kratos and Atreus begin their journey, Midgard is already being infested with Hel-Walkers. It was when Atreus fell ill that Kratos, alongside Mimir, ventured towards the realm of the dead to retrieve Mattugr Helson's heart to cure his son, an endeavor that resulted in Helheim losing its Bridge Keeper. Kratos returned to Helheim alongside Atreus and Baldur when the latter attempted to take the child to Asgard. Kratos interrupted the transportation sequence of Týr's Temple which forced them to go to Helheim instead. In Helheim is where Kratos and Atreus found out that Baldur was the son of Freya, and Atreus got a glimpse of his father killing his father. Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir would later return to Helheim to free the corrupted Valkyrie Ròta from her imprisonment. --- While Helheim has been able to exist on its own in the past, the goddess Hel is eventually banished to the realm and made to rule it by Odin. Known Residents The following list includes only characters who were known to be in Helheim at some point during the series. Given the multiple ways in which a person can be granted access to Helheim, naturally it can be assumed that any mortal in the Nine Realms could eventually become a resident. Current Residents Former Residents : Note: In addition to the above list, it's possible that all the enemies fought and killed within God of War (2018) (possibly excluding Baldur, Modi, Magni, and the Valkyries) ended up in Helheim after their respective defeats. : This actually becomes far more likely if one takes into account that the Valkyries were being prevented from doing their jobs at the time. With no Valkyries to decide who gets to go to Valhalla, its implied that most if not all of the souls were automatically sent to Helheim. Races in Helheim Regions * Bridge of the Damned * City of Helheim * Helheim Landing * Skies of Helheim Gallery HelheimMapSmall.png|Map of Helheim (cropped) Helheim Eagle.PNG|Hræsvelg, Helheim's Watcher God of War_20180520191341.jpg|Hræsvelg overlooking the boat. God of War_20180520191428.jpg|Hræsvelg watches over Helheim. Trivia * Helheim has been described as a place of great horror and suffering for anyone who has the misfortune of ending up there. With even the Aesir and the Vanir greatly fearing it and referring to it as being a cursed land. Odin himself can only survive there for a brief amount of time before needing to escape less he succumbs. ** It should be noted that this is set before Hel takes over Helheim. It's currently unknown how her being in charge would affect things. * Helheim is ruled by the goddess of death, Hel, who is the daughter of Loki. Seeing as how Loki (Atreus) is still a child in this game, it's possible that Hel hasn't been born yet. ** Interestingly, her brothers, Jörmungandr and Fenrir, are alive at the time. But in their case they came from the future, making it possible that Hel is the only one of the three siblings who didn't get sent back in time. * Helheim continues the tradition from the previous games for Kratos to visit the land of the dead like Underworld, Asphodel, and Domain of Death. ** In the Greek Era Kratos explored or was sent to the Underworld numerous times as well as exploring Thanatos' realm when searching for his brother. * It's possible that the giant eagle that gazes Helheim is Hræsvelgr/Hraesvelg (Old Norse "Corpse Swallower"), a Jötunn who takes the form of a bird and sits at the edge of the world overlooking Helheim and makes the wind blow with the flapping of his wings. * Mimir states that time moves much slower in Helheim than it does in Midgard. * Kratos wondered why it's dishonorable to grow old, but Mimir couldn't give him a clear answer. The ancient Nordic culture believed that it was better to go out fighting. * Though the cold and wind are so great within Helheim that no fire of any kind in the Nine Realms can stay alight, fire from foreign realms can remain burning. This includes the fire from Kratos' original weapons, the Blades of Chaos. ** Thus, such fire is very effective and deadly to the denizens of Helheim. ** This could be considered a direct contrast to the Greco-Roman Underworld which was often seen as a heavily volcanic area. * Helheim doesn't make differences between the criminals its meant to torture and everyone else, thus the ones who died of sickness, age, and even the living ones that visit Helheim are haunted by visions of their past. ** Towards Kratos, it was visions of Zeus who called to him, and even depicted a ghostly reenactment of his death. ** Towards Baldur, it was a vision of when he confronted Freya, his mother, and tried to make her lift his curse of not being able to feel. ** Towards Atreus, it was a vision of his recent cruelty against Modi. * With the possible exception of Baldur, Magni, and Modi, it is likely that most, if not all of the characters fought and killed within the game ended up in Helheim. ** Interestingly, in Norse mythology, Baldur did in fact end up in Helheim after his death. Whether or not this holds true in the games' continuity is currently unknown. * The rune for Helheim is Hagalaz, which among other things, represents hail. * Most characters who die and go to Helheim appear to exist primarily as souls or spirits lacking any physical form of their own. Though there may be exceptions to this rule. It's unknown if this applies to Valhalla too, though considering the combat necessities required to be there this is unlikely. * Its implied that Mimir's soul entered Helheim before he was reanimated by Freya. The experience apparently traumatized him greatly as he mentions that he had hoped to never to see the dreaded realm again. * It is unknown why Týr made a Realm Tower for Helheim as no living being can survive in the Realm with even the Allfather Odin, being unable to survive in the Realm of the Dead for long. Related Pages * Folkvanger * Ran's Net * Valhalla Category:God of War (2018) Locations Category:God of War (2018) Category:Locations Category:Norse Mythology Category:Realms Category:Helheim Category:Afterlives Category:Unfinished History